


Slice of Life / One Artist – It’s a Rat Trap, Judy and We’ve Been Caught

by badlifechoices



Series: Jason Todd Birthday Week 2018 [4]
Category: Batman - All Media Types
Genre: Gen, a few lyrics within the text body but not a lot, alfred is the best 2k18, day 4 of the jason todd birthday week, feel good fluff, jason is a punk and he listens to punk rock, jason todd is a happy boi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-12
Updated: 2018-08-12
Packaged: 2019-06-26 10:21:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,416
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15661278
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/badlifechoices/pseuds/badlifechoices
Summary: The music in his ears sings along to his good mood. It’s a great day and Jason Todd is as happy as a teenager on a nice Saturday afternoon in summer could be.





	Slice of Life / One Artist – It’s a Rat Trap, Judy and We’ve Been Caught

The sun is beating down on his skin, adding to his already dark tan. He’s sprawled out on the luscious grass of the wide garden, the large headphones of his Walkman tucked over his ears and his ill-fitting sunglasses covering half of his face. His hair is a mess, leaves sticking out of it and Alfred will surely complain soon enough that he needs a haircut. But for now, there’s nothing on his mind but the music he’s humming along to, nothing but the warmth of the first real summer day of the year. His arms are folded under his head, eyes closed, as he slightly moves his head to the rhythm, fingers tapping along on his arms.

_There was a lot of rocking going on that night_  
Cruising time for the young bright lights  
Just down past the gasworks, by the meat factory door  
The five lamp boys were coming on strong

 _The Saturday night city beat had already started_  
And the, the pulse of the corner boys just sprang into action  
And young Billy watched it all under the yellow street light  
And said "tonight of all nights, there's gonna be a fight"

 

The scent of a barbeque wafts through the air, tickles his nose and makes his stomach rumble. Jason licks his lips, thinking about the food that Alfred must be working on right now. Maybe he can get Al to make him chili dogs again or those bomb hamburgers he grills to perfection. His mouth waters just thinking about them, about eating as much as he can because it’s just so delicious. Bruce will glance over his newspaper with a raised eyebrow and ask him if he’s been starving for three days and Alfred will just smile and remind him to eat slowly or else his stomach will hurt later. Jason usually doesn’t listen and if his stomach hurts in the evening, Alfred will make sure to send him to bed with a cup of tea and a hot-water bottle for his stomach.

His fingers search his pockets for the hidden pack of cigarettes that he only keeps there for special days. He knows that Bruce and Alfred don’t approve but if it’s just one, surely no one will notice. He places it between his lips and lights it with the lighter tucked away in the back pocket of his washed-out jeans, all without opening his eyes. Al keeps asking if he should buy him new trousers, but Jason insists that this is how they’re supposed to look and the whole purpose of them is to _not_ be new. Hah, he’s pretty sure Dick never complained about wearing expensive clothes and fancy suits for Bruce’s dinner parties. But fancy is nothing for Jason, he prefers comfortable and sturdy to whatever kind of style it is that rich people wear everywhere. Fashionable, that’s what they call it, he supposes. At least he stopped trying to cut holes into his jeans, so Alfred doesn’t give him any disapproving glances anymore.

He sucks in the smoke of his cigarette and lets his other hand rest in the soft grass. There’s a couple of birds fighting in the branches of a tree above him and they’re loud enough to hear over his music. He considers throwing a stone at them but then leaves it be because he isn’t really bothered by it. Right now, there are very few things that could actually bother him because this is a nice day and he’s in a good mood. No school in the morning, no patrol in the evening because Bruce has some kind of Justice League business to do which means that Jason can stay up with a bag of popcorn and a couple good movies until he gets tired of watching fictional action heroes jump across the screen. Maybe he can talk Alfred into joining him, the old man could use a little fun between his butler-y activities and being Batmans backup.

A wide smile curls around his lips as the song speeds up, flicking the stump of his cigarette away and then tapping the rhythm out with both of his hands. He sings along loudly, not particularly caring whether or not he hits the keys. Jason thinks that he hasn’t felt this content and just, kind of really happy, in a while. Not since Bruce took him to that baseball game and bought him fast food afterwards. Or that time when they went on patrol until the early hours of the morning and Alfred waited for them with biscuits and hot chocolate. Hmm actually he’s been happy a lot ever since he moved into the manor. He’s not quite sure if he’s entirely used to it yet but he’s most certainly not complaining.

For a moment it sounds like someone’s calling him, and he peers over the sunglasses only to find Alfred crossing the lawn towards him. “Hey Al, what’s up?”, he calls out once the other is within earshot. The butler, not surprisingly to be honest, doesn’t answer until he’s close enough to talk, without raising his voice. “I brought you a glass of lemonade, Master Jason. I figured you could use something cold to drink in this heat. I have also taken the liberty to bring you some sunscreen.”

“Oh Al, you know I never get sunburns. It’s not even that hot yet.” Jason grins, reaching for the lemonade and taking a long sip. It’s refreshing and beyond delicious and Jason already wishes he had more than just one glass. “Oh, this is great. You’re the best, Al.”

The butler only raises an eyebrow. “As far as I am aware sunscreen should be worn not only to prevent sunburns but to shield the skin in order to keep it healthy.”

The teenager waves a hand. “Yeah, yeah I’ll put some on. Wouldn’t want B to give me another lecture on staying healthy.”  

“Indeed.” Alfred nods and he’s about to turn back towards the manor, when Jason stops him.

“Wait Al, you gotta listen to this. I got the CD in a yard sale the other week. It’s real good.” He holds out his headphones for the butler to take them and gingerly place them on his head.

 

 _Hey Billy take a walk, take a walk, take a walk_  
Billy take a walk, take a walk, take a walk  
Billy take a walk, take a walk, take a walk  
Hey Billy, take a walk with me

_Take a walk that leads to me  
Sweet high school blues_

 

Jason can see that eyebrow arch further up, as the other hands back the Walkman. “I would say it isn’t quite my taste in music but it is most certainly… interesting.” Jason can’t help the laugh bubbling up in his chest. “It’s alright Al, I know you prefer classical music.”

“You would be surprised,” the butler responds and if that doesn’t make the boy curious. But before he can ask anything else, Alfred is already on his way back and Jason is way too drunk off the sun and the lazy afternoon to get up just yet. So, he falls back into the grass and sighs, a feeling of utter carefreeness settling in his mind. The headphones are back on his ears, the sunglasses in place and his mind wanders to all the concerts he still has to go to this year, if he can convince Bruce that it’s an absolute necessity and will be really great for his morale. A hum on his lips, he nearly spills his lemonade all over his face because he’s too lazy to lift his head to drink. But only almost, because he has the greatest reflexes ever, even Bruce said so. Well, in a Bruce way that kind of still sounds like criticism but Jason knows when he’s being complimented.

A gentle breeze plays with his hair and above him the birds resume their chatting. The sky above him is as clear as could be, not a single cloud in sight. The sun tickles his nose a little and he huffs out a breath, wiping his arm across his face. The music in his ears sings along to his good mood. It’s a great day and Jason Todd is as happy as a teenager on a nice Saturday afternoon in summer could be.

 

 _"It's a rat trap Judy; and we've been caught"_  
Rat trap, you've been caught  
In a rat trap, you've been caught  
In a rat trap, you've been caught

**Author's Note:**

> i tried to keep the lyrics part as not-annoying as possible - hope i didn't fail.   
> the song used in this story is: boomtown rats - rat trap : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rJ02zCMoxCo


End file.
